The Arkansaw traveler., 1887-11-19
EATING RATTLESNAKES

"I tell yer what, rattlesnake's mighty goodw
 "What does it taste like?"
 Frogs. A nice tender rattlesnake's as good as one of your French fry frogs. Pse eat lem and know just what Fse talkin' about"
 It was a cowboy who was thus re- gently interesting me with the deli ciousness of nicely boiled rattle snake, and his mouth seemed to wa ter while talking about the pleasant taste and palateableness of this rep tilian dish.
 "Do many people eat rattlesnakes9"
 "No, course not, but they doesn't know what's good. Yer know good many Injuns'll eat snakes, but not often 8 white man. Why, sir, my stomach just uster kinder turn over at thinking 'bout eatin' a snake, but not a good many years ago I got off the trail when on the roundup and had nothin' to eat for three days. I were gettin' we'll nigh petered out, when a great big rattlesnake came writhin' and twistin' 'cross the path. Wal, I war mighty hungry, as were sayin', and happened ter think that the Injuns eat snakes and some- times an occasional white man, and when mans hungry, and pretty nigh starvin', he'll grab for any kind of bone that's got meat on it. And so 1 made for that ar snake, killed it and eat it, and as I was saying, it were good, and mighty good, Pll tell yer. Wy, sir, if it wer fashionable ter eat rattlesnake there would be many an order for tender boiled reptile in yer high toned restraints. It's all in yer eye as ter what is good ter eat and what isn't. I'll never forget, tho eatin' my first snake, fer as l wer a sayin', it wer to eat that ar snake or starve. 1 wer pretty weak ano a gettin' weaker, and when I first thought 'bout eatin' that ar snake my stomach kinder got weaker than any thing else. looked at the old snake layin' dead thar in the grass, except his tail and rattlcs, which were wig glin', and the tho't of what wer goin' ter do made me the sickest man yer ever seed. 1 got on my broncho, sayin' to myself, Bill, yer can't eat snake, and rode over a mile further and got ter studying the matter over, and so come back ter the snake agin. just kinder screwed my courage up to the highest point and let in. I cut off it's head, skinned it and then built fire in the grass and cooked it. After it wer skinned and that ar shining hide off and out of sight I felt better, for the meat looked mighty clear and white. But I laugh ter myself now when I think of how begun ter eat that ar snake. I made faces and twisted my mouth into all kinds of shapes and ways. wanted ter and didn't want ter. But, sir, when a mans starvin', and snake is the only bill of fare he's got, Pll tell yer, from personal experience, he'll eat snake, an specially rattlesnake, fer it's mighty good eatin'. My eyes were beginnin' ter stand out, and 30 just closed in and took bite, and when found out that it were good eat with my eyes open. Yes, sir, it tasted like frog, but of course it wer a little fresh, as I had no salt. That ar snake saved my life, and Ps saved them rattles ever since. Thar they are" and Bill, pulling them out of his pocket, rattled them with a gregt deal of satisfaction. "Them rattles is pretty slick now, yer see," said Bill, "for Ps carried lem in my pocket on the trail from Texas to Montana . dozen times or more. And I'll tell yer that when it comes to eatin' bar meat, elk. deer or nice broiled rattlesnake, I'll take the rattlesnake every time. Some times, when it wer my turn ter cook in camp, would try ter git t'other fellers ter eat a rattlesnake but hardly ever succeeded, fer their notion wer just like the first'n I had. They'd make me cook it separate from t'other food. No, sir, I have found but mighty few converts ter rattlesnake eatin', but knowin' what I does is sufficient for me-"
 "What is the best way of preparing the diet2"
 "Wall, yer first kill yer rattlesnake and then skin it. Thar is no dan ger to ono who knows how. If yer whip . snake it kinder paraly1es it. The fesses down at Yale and Har- vani--them biz colleges down 0st- may know the reason why, but don't All I know is tliat if yR whip smke 1T wil1 int rkrn3wh<em Orss sffH Ensp .